GRASS AND HAY 63 



profitable stand of clover. Red clover will not succeed if the ground 

 is poorly drained or if the land is in any way boggy. On such soils 

 it is better to seed alsike instead of red clover. 



Preparation of the Seed Bed. Clover is usually seeded in the 

 spring on winter grain. In such cases no special preparation of the 

 seed bed is necessary, as the frost has usually cracked the ground 

 sufficiently to render natural covering a reasonable certainty. If 

 seeded with a spring-sown nurse crop the preparation accorded the 

 land for the grain crop is usually sufficiently thorough for successful 

 results with red clover; but it is necessary to have the seed bed fine 

 and reasonably firm if prompt germination and proper establish- 

 ment of the young plants is to be accomplished. 



When clover is seeded alone a very desirable practice on poor, 

 run-down farms a firm, fine, well-settled seed bed is highly desir- 

 able. For this reason the clover should not be seeded on freshly 

 plowed land which has been given no opportunity to settle. Several 

 workings with soil packers or harrows are usually necessary unless a 

 heavy rain intervenes to settle the ground to the proper condition. 

 If the ground has been previously planted to an intertilled crop, such 

 as corn, plowing is not always necessary, as a good disking will gen- 

 erally put the ground in proper condition for red clover. 



Fertilizers for Red Clover. Under ordinary conditions the red 

 clover crop is able to succeed by utilizing whatever fertilizer has 

 been used in connection with the crops immediately preceding or 

 with which the clover is sown; but on soils which are somewhat 

 low in fertility profitable returns are made more certain by top- 

 dressing with manure previous to the time of seeding. The soil 

 may lack a sufficient quantity of one or more of the principal fer- 

 tilizer elements essential to the production of red clover. This de- 

 ficiency may be supplied in the form of commercial fertilizer if 

 manure is not available in sufficient quantities. Clover soils in the 

 clover belt generally appear to be somewhat deficient in phosphorus 

 but usually have enough potash and nitrogen. 



Seeding Red Clover. Red clover often fails to catch because 

 it is not planted sufficiently deep to insure proper moisture condi- 

 tions for the young seedlings. In light or sandy soils the seed should 

 be covered 1% to 2 inches deep, while in clay soils the covering 

 should be about 1 inch. For prompt germination it is advisable on 

 reasonably loose lands, especially sandy lands, to roll the ground 

 after seeding. If a smooth roller is used, it should be followed by 

 a light harrow to roughen the surface and thus prevent rapid evapo- 

 ration of the soil moisture. Shallow seeding is especially disastrous 

 in case of insufficient rainfall. Red clover may be seeded about six 

 weeks before frost in the autumn or in the early spring while the 

 ground is still freezing and thawing daily. It may also be seeded 

 in the late spring after the ground has become warm. The late sum- 

 mer or early fall seeding is recommended in seasons w T here there is 

 ample moisture or where spring seedings for any particular reason 

 do not succeed. In seeding clover, 8 to 10 pounds are usually suf- 



